The present invention relates to methods for preparing cheese products and process cheese bases for use in the production of process cheeses. This invention also relates to cheese products and process cheese bases prepared according to these methods. This invention also relates to process cheeses produced with these process cheese bases. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for preparing cheese products and process cheese bases comprising mixing one or more concentrated powders derived from milk with sodium chloride, milk fat, water, and, optionally, an edible acid and/or a preservative, and cooling the resulting mixture to allow it to form a solid matrix. The solid matrix, which has the texture and consistency of fresh cheese, can be consumed, or can be employed as a process cheese base (i.e., as a substitute for some or all of the natural cheese) during the production of process cheese.
Natural cheese products and process cheese products, and methods for preparing these products, are well known in the food industry. Standards of Identity, which are incorporated herein by reference, have been established by the United States Food and Drug Administration for several types of process cheese products.
Process cheese is conventionally prepared by grinding, and/or mixing while heating, one or more varieties of milk fat-containing natural cheeses, such as Cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, Swiss cheese, Brick cheese, Muenster cheese, Pasta Filata cheese, washed curd and granular curd cheese. The resulting cheese is then blended with other dairy products, such as non-fat dry milk and whey solids, and with emulsifying salts, such as disodium phosphate, at temperatures which are sufficiently elevated to pasteurize the cheese, and to produce a homogeneous, pumpable, fluid cheese material that may be formed into sheets, slices, or other desired forms.
There are three general types of process cheese, which include pasteurized process cheese, pasteurized process cheese food, and pasteurized process cheese spread. These process cheeses have certain characteristics that are desirable to cheese consumers. They all have a smooth, creamy texture and a slight firmness that is attributable to the presence of at least 20 percent fat in the process cheese formulation. Based on the Standards of Identity, the main differences between the three types of process cheese are their moisture and fat content, and the use of optional components in their manufacture. These cheeses typically are made in large quantities using a horizontal cooker (sometimes called a laydown cooker) that can hold up to 500 pounds or more of cheese. Often, the process cheese is then automatically packaged in airtight cartons.
In accordance with the Standards of Identity, pasteurized process cheese is the food prepared by comminuting and mixing, with the aid of heat, one or more natural cheeses of the same or different varieties. Specifically excluded from use in the preparation of pasteurized process cheese are cream cheese, Neufchatel cheese, cottage cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, cottage cheese dry curd, cooked cheese, hard grating cheese, semisoft part-skim cheese, part-skim spice cheese, and skim milk cheese. The pasteurized process cheese is generally prepared by heating natural cheese with an emulsifying agent while mixing into a homogeneous plastic mass. During its preparation, pasteurized process cheese is generally heated for not less than about thirty seconds at a temperature of not less than about 150xc2x0 F.
The moisture content of pasteurized process cheese generally cannot be more than 43 percent. However, the moisture content of pasteurized processed washed curd cheese or pasteurized processed Colby cheese cannot be more than 40 percent; the moisture content of pasteurized processed Swiss cheese or pasteurized processed Gruyere cheese cannot be more than 44 percent; and the moisture content of pasteurized processed Limburger cheese cannot be more than 51 percent.
The fat content (on a dry basis) of pasteurized process cheese cannot be less than 47 percent, except that the fat content of pasteurized processed Swiss cheese is not less than 43 percent, and the fat content of pasteurized process Gruyere cheese is not less than 45 percent. Optional ingredients for pasteurized process cheese include an edible acid, cream, water, salt, and spices.
The emulsifying agents employed in the manufacture of pasteurized process cheese are generally one or mixtures of two or more of the following: monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, sodium metaphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium citrate, potassium citrate, calcium citrate, sodium tartrate, and sodium potassium tartrate.
Pasteurized process cheese food is prepared in a manner similar to that of pasteurized process cheese. However, it has a much lower fat contentxe2x80x94generally about 23 percent. The moisture content is not more than about 44 percent. Pasteurized process cheese food generally may include the optional ingredients of pasteurized process cheese, as well as other optional ingredients, which may include additional dairy ingredients, such as milk, skim milk, buttermilk, anhydrous milkfat, cheese whey, skim milk cheese, and albumin. In addition, any of the foregoing from which part of the water has been removed can be used. The same emulsifying agents permitted in the manufacture of pasteurized process cheese can also be used in the manufacture of pasteurized process cheese food.
Pasteurized process cheese spread is prepared in a manner similar to pasteurized process cheese and pasteurized process cheese food, and may contain the optionally ingredients of pasteurized process cheese food. In addition, the use of gums is permitted in pasteurized process cheese spread. The gums that can be used include carob bean gum, gum karaya, gum tragacanth, guar gum, gelatin, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, carrageenan, oat gum, sodium alginate, propylene glycol alginate and xanthum gum. The total weight of the gums cannot be more than about 0.8 percent of the weight of the finished pasteurized process cheese spread. The moisture content of pasteurized process cheese spread is generally about 44 to about 60 percent. The fat content of pasteurized process cheese spread is not less than about 20 percent. The same emulsifying agents described above can be used in the preparation of pasteurized process cheese spread.
It would be beneficial to provide a process cheese base prepared with edible powders as a substitute for some or all of the natural cheese normally used in the production of process cheese for several reasons. Unlike natural cheese, such powders have the advantage of an extended shelf life. Thus, unlike natural cheese, these powders can be purchased when supplies are high and prices are low, and then used over an extended period of time. Further, it is often cheaper to purchase such powders than natural cheese. However, most process cheese manufacturing plants are not equipped to process large quantities of powders. Modifying such plants to permit them to process large quantities of powders would be very expensive.
The process of the invention advantageously transforms milk powders into a mass that acts very similar to natural cheese in a relatively quick and easy manner. The mass may readily be prepared in process cheese manufacturing plants without significant modifications and used as a substitute for some or all of the natural cheese normally used in the manufacture of process cheese. Alternatively, the mass, which advantageously has the texture and consistency of natural cheese, may be combined with conventional flavors and consumed as a fresh cheese product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,857 describes a method for preparing a granular, free-flowing lecithin product wherein agglomerated non-fat dry milk or whey is blended with lecithin. Example 1 describes the use of a ribbon blender to blend agglomerated non-fat dry milk and heated lecithin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,725 describes a method of making a nonaqueous, lipid-based, stable, flavored coating that is spreadable at room temperature. The coating is prepared by mixing vegetable oil, a bulking agent, a flavorant, and a lipid stabilizer at a temperature sufficiently elevated to provide the lipid component in a molten state, and cooling the mixture of ingredients to a temperature in the range of 70-100xc2x0 F.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,778 describes low calorie, substantially fat-free process cheese products that are stated to have textural and organoleptic mouthfeel characteristics simulating conventional process cheese products. This patent describes the addition of a gum in dry form with other powdered components, such as powdered skim milk and powdered dried whey solids, to a ground skim cheese and a highly viscous microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose aqueous dispersion under conditions of shear, such as in a ribbon blender.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,962 describes a flavored instant coffee product, and a process for making such product. Several of the examples describe the use of a ribbon blender to blend various ingredients, such as non-dairy creamer and sugar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,900 describes a low-fat natural cheese that is prepared from skim milk or skim milk cheese and a gel-forming fat mimetic to provide a non-fat cheese product which is stated to be similar in body and texture to natural cheese. In one embodiment of a method described for making the cheese product, a gel-forming fat mimetic is added to skim milk to provide a cheese substrate. The cheese substrate is then subjected to a cheese make procedure to provide a cheese curd. The cheese curd is then cured to provide a low-fat skim milk cheese. The skim milk cheese is comminuted and heated to a temperature of from about 140xc2x0 F. to about 180xc2x0 F. for a period of time sufficient to provide a homogeneous cheese mass. The cheese mass is then packaged. In another embodiment, a mixture of skim milk cheese, a gel-forming fat mimetic and an emulsifying salt is provided. The mixture is heated to a temperature of from about 140xc2x0 F. to about 180xc2x0 F. The mixture is held at the elevated temperature for a period of from about 0.5 minutes to about 8 minutes to provide a homogeneous cheese mass, which is then packaged.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,577 describes a process cheese product containing natural cheese, a dry component selected from the group consisting of whey protein concentrate, non-fat milk solids, and mixtures thereof, and yogurt. This patent also describes a method for making the process cheese product. One or more types of natural cheese are ground to provide a particulate cheese. The particulate cheese is mixed with the dry component in a blender to provide a cheese mixture. The mixture is transferred to a cooker, and the mixture is heated to a first predetermined temperature. Yogurt is added to the heated mixture to provide a process cheese product. Heating of the product is continued to a second predetermined temperature. The product is then cooled and packaged.
European Patent Publication EP099/7073A2 describes a process for preparing a liquid, pumpable fresh cheese.
The present invention provides a method for preparing cheese products and process cheese bases for use in the production of process cheeses. The method generally comprises mixing one or more concentrated powders derived from milk with sodium chloride, milk fat, water, and, optionally, an edible acid and/or a preservative for a period of time sufficient to produce a well-mixed product, wherein the concentrated powders are present in an amount ranging from about 25 to about 60 percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base, wherein the sodium chloride is present in an amount ranging from about 0.5 to about 4.0 percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base, wherein the milk fat is present in an amount ranging from about 9 to about 38 percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base, and is at a temperature ranging from about 80xc2x0 F. to about 140xc2x0 F., wherein the edible acid is present in an amount ranging from about 0 to about 2.0 percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base, wherein the preservative is present in an amount ranging from about 0 to about 0.2 percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base, and wherein the water is present at a weight percent of the total weight of the cheese product or process cheese base which is sufficient to form the cheese product or process cheese base, and to bring the weight percent of the cheese product or process cheese base to one hundred percent. The use of the edible acid is optional when preparing process cheese bases, but is required when preparing cheese products, according to the method of the invention. The resulting mixture is cooled for a time and at a temperature that is sufficient to allow the mixture to form a solid matrix, which can then be consumed, or employed as an ingredient in natural cheese. Such a process cheese base could be ground and then used in the manufacture of process cheese in a process cheese manufacturing plant. The present invention also provides cheese products and process cheese bases prepared according to the above method, and process cheeses produced with the process cheese bases of the invention.